Authorities of the Communist Party has ordered one of the biggest churches in the city of Wenzhou to be demolished. The demolition of the 85,000-square-foot structure started on Monday.

According to Chinese officials, the $5-million Sanjiang Church was demolished because it did not follow the size stipulated in its building permit, the church being four times the permitted size. Activists, however, see the incident as part of an ongoing attack on churches in Zheijiang province.

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Parishioners had been conducting a vigil in a bid to protect the church. The month-long standoff with authorities ended when the demolition finally began.

Los Angeles Times cited 25-year-old church member Yu Xinwei recounting how everybody cried while watching the demolition on Monday. She also recounted the difficulty they encountered in the 12 years they spent building the large church. Activists said authorities have issued orders to demolish around a dozen churches across the Zheijiang province. Others have been ordered to take down their crosses, they said.

Texas-based rights group ChinaAid reported that provincial party secretary Xia Baolong was the mastermind behind this anti-church campaign. Baolong reportedly said the crosses were "too conspicuous."

According to Renmin University anthropologist Cao Nanlai, Wenzhou is also known as "China's Jerusalem" and that it is ranked among China's most prosperous cities. He said that this is by far the largest church that has been demolished.

China has strict regulations when it comes to religion. Unlike other churches that were involved in problems with authorities, the Sanjiang Church was part of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. This is the only Protestant church in China that is sanctioned by the state.

On Tuesday, officials of the Yongjia county told a local media firm that Sanjiang was demolished because its actual size was four times bigger than the one stipulated on its permit. They also said the church had a very big underground parking space.

The officials said the demolition was done according to the law and in the spirit of fairness, a local media said.